Having Your Own Say

It’s Your Life:
Quality of Living on Your Own Terms"I wish we knew." They are words that are said too often when families are put in the difficult position of deciding on care for a loved one who is unable to speak for themselves. It could be your mother or father who suffers from Alzheimer’s, a brother or sister at the end stages of cancer, or an aunt or uncle who is dealing with heart disease. Many people have never had conversations with their loved ones about their wishes for care…leaving them with no roadmap to guide them.

Imagine how things could be different if you only knew. Having Your Own Say: Getting the Right Care When It Matters Most makes the case that families don’t have to wonder, "What if?" Discover how proven models put you and your loved ones at the center of your care and allow you to manage an illness on your own terms with the best medical advice.

From the rural Midwest to a large California city to an entire nation, experts from around the globe explain how this approach to care has worked for them…and can change health care for the better.

Reviews"Our health care system routinely fails people facing the end of life. But the authors of this book offer hope that this can change. More than that, they show how. No one has been more effective in demonstrating how much better health care can be."
—Atul Gawande, New Yorker staff writer and author of The Checklist Manifesto

"In this transformative time for health care in America, these contributors and editors have given us a fresh and illuminating perspective. I would encourage every state and federal lawmaker interested in informed health policy to read this book carefully."
—Former Sen. Tom Daschle